Why not keep our present starters & bring these 4 off the bench. Now that's a deep bench. Or we could run a high/low post with Dmo high & DH low. I really think a DH/TJ/Dmo 4/5 rotation will work with Black & Dorsey filling in. Pap can go 4 in small ball. Ariza/Pap/Garcia can go 3. Harden/Canaan/Terry/Bev can handle the 1 & 2 spots. We have a 10 man rotation with Black, Dorsey or Garcia being the 10th man. No one plays more than 35 minutes, so we're fresher for the playoffs.
Personally I'd go: Howard (32)/DMo (16) Jones (28)/DMo (12)/KPap (8) Ariza (35)/KPap (13) Harden (38)/Terry (10) Beverley (25)/Canaan (20)/Terry (3) Assuming Jones ever gets back to the level he was playing at the first four games. If not, he might not be able to reclaim that starting spot.
There is no set number of mins a backup will play and there is no way that you can tell a player that he will play a certain amount of mins a game. Everything breaks down to scenarios and how a person is playing that night... Also depends on your starters are doing... The only ideal situation is to manage your starters mins... But on occasions you may have to play your starters more mins. So trying to predict you play this player this many mins and this player that many mins is not logical. T_Man
when these 4 come back and if the guys in rotation keep playing consistently the way they are right now...............watch out NBA
D. Mo is proving that he is miles ahead of Jones defensively, but can he play off of Howard the same way TJ can. Offensively, TJ is a guy that gets easy garbage buckets, can break his man down off the dribble in isolation, cuts to the basket, gets lob dunks, offensive put backs, and gets out on the break. He has simply been able to coexist with Dwight and Harden much better up to this point and has had some monster games while doing it. D. Mo seems to be more of a half court guy that is best utilized with the offense flowing through him. He is a good passer as well. If he can translate what he is doing now to being able to do it with Dwight on the floor with him then you may have something special. On the other hand, he can get all of his minutes still backing up the center and PF spot and being a much needed low post option when we go to the bench while providing good defense. I'll just say this is potentially a very good problem to have. TJ and Dwight being out has been a blessing in disguise up to this point. Now I want them to come back though!!!
The arrows really help. I was having a hard time determining which guys in the picture were injured Rockets players.
I would want Harden playing somewhere around 30-34 minutes. 38 would simply be too much for him to average over the season. Terry can definitely give 5-8 minutes backing up Harden, and another 3-5 backing up the point.
Gotta go head and start Dmo with Howard. It would be a great true twin towers to go up against any frontline. Dmo is mobile enough to be an effective 4.
DMo started more games than Jones this season. And you don't also want to see if Jones's play in those 4 games were also sustainable? Jones was up and down last season as the starter alongside Howard. So we'll have to see if the first 4 games were the real deal. The truth is, both guys need more time to prove that they can be consistent contributors. DMo is having his longest stretch of good games so far as a Rocket. I am still holding my breath. And yes, I do worry about his fit with Howard's game.
Terry can take some of Hardens and Bevs minutes and play the one with Harden facilitating the offense. Terry's shooting is just too good
Not having D-Mo to back up Howard at the 5 would be a tragedy of epic proportions. I hope Howard and Jones get back soon so that D-Mo can back each of them up for a total of 32 minutes a game.
Howard is not embracing his strength and I actually would argue who is the better fit with Jones/DMo. Nothing against Howard but his post game is not going to help us so much.
If we are playing against Portland, I want D-Mo starting against LMA. D-Mo has developed himself into a very good defender. I bet good money he would be very effective against LMA.
True that. Against great power forwards D-Mo is the obvious choice. He has incredibly quick feet and plays great defense. But then there are those other 25 teams where I would prefer Jones so that D-Mo can man the paint when Howard rests.
Dwight in the post since he has been a Rocket has been hit or miss. There are times when he is unstoppable( like in the playoffs ); however, there are also times where forcing it in to him is a bad idea and he jacks up a horrible shot or turns the ball over. Dwight at his Orlando and Rocket best is more of a glorified garbage man. Yes he can post and kick out for threes but our offense now generally looks better with more movement. He should try to have a few games where he just shelves the idea of posting up and runs around setting screens and rolls to the hoop. He can save energy by not having to fight for post position and can focus all of his efforts on rebounding and on defense. I'm not suggesting the rockets do this for a long period of time; however i think that going back to the basics will help dwight in all facets of the game. He needs to go back to being a completely transcendent defensive force. With his experience and athleticism he needs to be heads and shoulders above Davis and Gasol for best defensive center. He can get back there but the focus needs to be present. With James and our other sharp shooters we dont really need dwight to be scoring 20 + a game .Which line would you rather dwight produce ? 24/12/2 ...... or ? 19/15/4 for me i would clearly take the second and I assume that he is going to get those 19 in a more efficient fashion. Dwight's best game this year has been against San Antonio and he did just this but put up monster stats because he got fed in the pick and roll. He can bring that every game. This long rant was designed to demonstrate that its not only the minutes distribution that matters its how the players are playing and what roles they occupy. When everyone gets back i want to try a rotation like this Bev 30 Canaan 18 Harden 34 Jet 14 Ariza 32 Pap 16 Dmo 30 Jones 30 Dwight 33 (black/dorsey 6 ) We need to mix and match our starters and bench based off the hot hand and also the game situation / role they play. Jones is a really promising player in the mold of a mini dwight in that he is a plus weak-side shot blocker and a great offensive garbage man. Jones also has some handling/ slashing skills that he can develop further. Dmo is more grounded in his game but extremely skilled offensively and great defensively. I have already covered dwight. It doesn't matter who starts although for continuity's sake we should probably start the same PF every game and just alter the time at which the sub comes in depending on matchups. If these players play up to their potential we will contend for a chip.
Honestly, with Jones's injury, I don't expect him to play many minutes this season. Look how careful we are with dwight. So i suspect DMO and Jones will split minutes close to down the middle. Ideally the starters should play 1st and 3rd quarters. Just me.
I agree with this. Great post. In the games DMo has started alongside Howard, he hasn't looked nearly as good as he has the past week or so. Jones last year gave you 13ppg and 7rpg in 71 games as a starter alongside Howard last season, so I am basing this off his production last season as well. His production in the playoffs dropped off significantly obviously, as he only gave us 8/6. DMo was getting DNP's though.
Minutes always fluctuate by the game. There is no blueprint. Harden gets into foul trouble or he is 0 - 8 and not playing D he sits. Howard gets into foul trouble, same thing. Some dude riding the pine hits a few shots and is stroking it, he stays in the game longer. Again, no coach sits there before the game and says tonight James you will play 38 minutes and Pat, you will play 25 minutes. That would be completely moronic and they would all look at him like he was suffering from some sort of brain hemorrhage. Is that all clear, or should it be explained again?
Gotta love the fickle nature of Clutchfans. Judging by some of the comments here, one would think the team was struggling until Howard and Jones went out with injuries. The truth is the Rockets were a more efficient and potent offensive team when those guys were healthy and they were still just as dominant defensively. Credit goes to McHale and staff for maintaining the team's defensive focus and finding new ways to win games despite a parade of injuries. The hope is that these early trials will serve the team well down the stretch since several key reserves are now getting valuable in-game experience. However, you don't scuttle your team's whole approach and identity just because those reserves had a few good games.
